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The general topic of general tag and version tags is discussed in tag + tag Version or just tag version. However, the answers don't address some specific issues:

  1. Situation: OP states he is using Excel 2010 and tags the question as such. The question relates to the proper syntax for a worksheet function, which is the same in all versions of Excel. The 2010 tag is harmful in this case because it deflects others from finding a generic Excel Q&A that applies to all other versions.

    • Shouldn't such a question to have a version-agnostic tag?

    In the question referenced at the top, the advice seems to be to use a version-specific tag when the question is version-specific and a version-agnostic tag is the question is not. This answer to a related Meta question seems to indicate that a version-specific tag is preferable (and I seem to recall other discussion on Meta that version-specific tags are always preferable). I don't want to trigger re-tagging wars.

    • Does this come down to personal judgement or is there any official guidance?

  2. Situation: Application XYZ has been around through many versions. There is a feature or bug that applies to versions 8 and 9, and only those versions. OP writes a question about it and tags it with version 8, which is what he uses.

    • Should the version 9 tag be added to help others who use version 9 and might not spot the Q&A if it is tagged only with version 8?

  3. Situation: OP writes a generic Excel question and then tags it with every version-specific Excel tag that will fit in order to attract the widest possible viewership.

    • Should the author's preferences be respected and the tags left alone? or
    • Should the tags be cleaned up (and the OP can replace them if he doesn't like the change)?

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
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Tags should be focussed on the question, and maybe the answer, more on the question.

Version agnostic

If the question can be modified slightly to have it become general enough across versions, while still keeping to the spirit of the initial question, do so and retag to use the generic, but it doesn't hurt to leave the original version tag.

Version tag across duplicates

If the question deals with one version, but can also handle cases for other versions then it's a case-by-case call on if adding another version tag makes sense, or of adding the general version tag.

It's also possible to leave tags as-is and close any new question using a different version tag as a duplicate. You might have seen that situation when running across windows-vista and windows-7 tagged questions.

Many version tags slapped on for coverage

No, the asker is being greedy here and the tags should be trimmed to match the question, not the desire for eyeballs.

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  • Thanks. re: duplicate questions -- that can get confusing. It often isn't clear whether the solutions apply to the different version. People often flag a duplicate based on subject matter, without verifying that the solution for a different version will work. It would be much better practice to add relevant tags to the "standard" question to cover its use for duplicates, or at least comment with the duplicate flag to verify that the version difference isn't relevant.
    – fixer1234
    Commented Mar 5, 2015 at 21:50
  • They may vote as duplicate, but it still needs a check, from other voting users, and the OP, if cross versions apply
    – random Mod
    Commented Mar 5, 2015 at 22:33

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